Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 4266

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd

(AG2022/4798)

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER SPENCER	BRISBANE, 5 DECEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Subject to matters that have been addressed by way of an undertaking, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

As noted, pursuant to s.190(3), I have accepted an undertaking from the employer. In accordance with ss.191(1) and 201(3) of the Act the undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached to the Agreement.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 December 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 December 2025.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022. The parties included Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd, an engineering and construction company, and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, representing the employees. The dispute centred around whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was the tribunal tasked with assessing the application and determining whether the agreement complied with the necessary provisions.

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement provided for the mandatory bargaining items as required by section 228 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The mandatory bargaining items include minimum rates of pay, penalty rates, overtime rates, leave provisions, and other conditions such as maximum weekly hours and shift arrangements. The Commission needed to ensure that the agreement contained terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the relevant awards or the general safety and health protections. The Commission also had to assess whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether the process by which it was made was compliant with the Act.

In assessing the application, the Commission reviewed the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement and compared them to the relevant award provisions and general safety and health protections. The Commission found that the agreement provided for the mandatory bargaining items and was not less favourable than the relevant awards or the general safety and health protections. The Commission also found that the agreement was made in good faith and that the process by which it was made was compliant with the Act. The Commission approved the application and the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022 was registered.

The Fair Work Commission approved the application for the approval of the Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Sydney Service Enterprise Agreement 2022. The agreement was found to comply with the mandatory bargaining items, the relevant awards, and the general safety and health protections. The Commission also found that the agreement was made in good faith and that the process by which it was made was compliant with the Act. The Commission ordered that the agreement be registered.

Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established